Everywhere in communication systems, increasingly sophisticated algorithms are being used to support higher data rates and richer services. This is true in all application areas, but perhaps most visibly in mobile and video segments, where the move to new generation is driving significant changes in component design for telecoms equipment and Multimedia Video equipment, such as multi stream/channel based real-time video surveillance equipment where intelligent inline/in-situ decisions have to be made. In addition to basic voice and messaging, UMTS paves the way for telecom operators and now WIMAX based open systems, and possibly open spectrum such as 700 MHz in US will offer sophisticated data oriented services that industry analysts predict are essential for revenue growth over the next decade.
As people strive for higher data rates or longer reach over fixed channels, data rates get ever-closer to Shannon's limit and more sophisticated algorithms are required. Indeed, the requirement for signal processing is rising ten to a hundred times faster than Moore's law can deliver.
Estimation and detection algorithms in today's communication systems require the number of operations per second to grow by a factor of ten every four years; that compares to the increase in processor speed from Moore's law of a factor of ten every six years. Worse, while Moore's law holds well for general purpose processors and memory, the difficulty of integrating ever bigger systems means that the growth curve for complex System-on-a-chip (“SoC”)—ASICs is significantly slower—“the design gap”—with a CAGR of 22%.
Not only must equipment deliver improved performance, design times are under pressure and budgets are stressed, often in an environment where standards are shifting. Example WiMax started out in 2001 (IEEE 802.16d) with stationary network based wireless vision, in 2006 transformed into mobile (IEEE 802.16e) and now wanting to transform further by supporting wide spectrum in FDD & TDD domain to provide further spectrally efficient transmission of Data, Video, and Voice (802.16m).
A fundamental change approach is required, and a growing awareness of the attractiveness of reconfigurable DSP, flexible architectures or other (SDR) systems. Makimoto's wave would suggest such a transition is overdue with the most desirable characteristics of these techniques including “efficient”, “optimal” or “cost effective”.